Jemima Goldsmith pleads for assist as she reveals her sons haven’t been capable of see their imprisoned father Imran Khan for nearly two years

Jemima Goldsmith has pleaded for help as she revealed her sons have not been able to see their imprisoned father, Imran Khan.

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Khan, who has been detained since August 2023, was handed a 14-year prison sentence after being found guilty of corruption.

The ex-cricket captain and his wife were accused of accepting a gift of land from a real estate tycoon in exchange for laundered money when Khan was in power.

His wife, Bushra Bibi, was also sentenced to seven years behind bars after being found guilty.

The imprisoned politician has been embroiled in hundreds of cases, ranging from selling state gifts to leaking secrets. He denies all claims, lambasting them as politically motivated. 

In recent weeks, his sisters have been repeatedly denied a visit with the former Prime Minister, and said they were becoming increasingly concerned about his health.

And now his film producer ex, Goldsmith, 51, has taken to X in a desperate bid for help, confessing their sons, Sulaiman and Kasim, have not seen him in 22 months. 

‘X is the only place left where we can still tell the world he is a political prisoner without basic human rights,’ she said.

‘Yet every time I post about him, the reach inside Pakistan (and often globally) is throttled to almost zero,’ she claimed.

‘You promised free speech, not “speech but no one hears it”. Please fix the visibility filtering on my account so we can get the message out!’

Last year, she claimed that the electricity to her ex-husband’s cell has been cut and that he was no longer allowed time outdoors. 

‘He is now completely isolated, in solitary confinement, literally in the dark, with no contact with the outside world,’ Goldsmith wrote in October 2024. 

Khan initially rose to the premier post in 2018, where he enjoyed popular support as the former Pakistani cricket captain. 

But, after falling out with the king-making military establishment, he was banished from power in a no-confidence vote in 2022.

However, his legal woes were only just beginning as he became entangled in a legal saga, where he was accused of wrongdoing in around 200 cases. 

He claimed the charges were orchestrated by the country’s powerful generals in a bid to prevent his comeback. 

In November 2022, Khan was shot and wounded in an assasination bid after he accused military bosses of plotting. 

Meanwhile, his court battle sparked unrest and mass protests in Pakistan as many took to the streets in support of the widely popular cricket player. 

Khan was voted in by millions of Pakistanis who grew up watching him play cricket, where he excelled as an all-rounder and led the nation to a World Cup victory in 1992.

His premiership saw an end to decades of political dominance by dynastic parties, while he looked towards creating a national welfare state.  

But his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party made little headway improving the country’s finances, with galloping inflation, crippling debt and a feeble rupee undermining economic reform.

Many prominent opposition figures were jailed during his tenure and rights groups decried a crackdown on media freedoms, with TV channels unofficially barred from airing his opponents’ views.

With the tables now turned, he faces many of those same curbs alongside his wife Bibi – a reclusive faith healer who married Khan shortly before he was elected.

At the end of November, rumours began to swirl online that the former Prime Minister had died in the jail in Adiala, 

But Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party quickly condemned the ‘despicable’ rumours regarding Khan’s whereabouts.

In a statement on X, the party demanded that the ‘current government and the interior ministry immediately and clearly dismiss and clarify the rumour and immediately arrange a meeting between Imran and his family’.

‘A formal and transparent statement should be issued on behalf of the state regarding the health, security and current status of Imran,’ the party said.

A spokesperson for PTI also said no one has seen Khan since November 4, and no reason has been given for not having a meeting.

Khan is being denied visits and medical support despite his status as a former prime minister.

‘His health is our concern. We are worried about his illegal isolation,’ spokesperson Zulfikar Bukhari said.

Khan’s family and party members also protested outside the jail in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, demanding to see him.

His sisters Noreen Niazi, Aleema Khan and Dr Uzma Khan claimed they were recently ‘brutally’ assaulted outside the prison while demanding to see their brother.

Prison rules allow Khan to meet outsiders at least once a week, although jail authorities can suspend such access.

There have been long gaps spanning weeks when Khan was not allowed to meet outsiders, the party said.

The 73-year-old may have been moved to a high-security prison, meaning it would be more difficult to meet with him, local media reported.  

A jail official told Reuters that the former premier was in good health, and that he was not aware of any plans to move him to any other facility.

He spoke on the condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media.

His first short-lived arrest in May 2023 sparked nationwide unrest, some of which targeted military facilities and which sparked a widespread crackdown against PTI.

Khan was barred from standing in February 2024 elections and was hit by a trio of fresh convictions just days before a poll marred by rigging allegations.